Put the St. Louis Cardinals in throwback uniforms, and suddenly they play a lot like the 1982 World Series champs.
Or, for that matter, the champions from last year.
The Cardinals pounded out a season-high 19 hits in a 12-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night, drawing the Cardinals closer to contention in the NL Central and spoiling the host Brewers' 1982 World Series team reunion.
Both teams wore throwback uniforms to commemorate the 1982 series, in which the Cardinals defeated the Brewers in seven games - making Tuesday's result look vaguely familiar.
Now the reigning World Series champions have clawed their way back into the division race. With Tuesday night's victory, St. Louis trails Milwaukee by 4 1/2 games, and second-place Chicago by three.
La Russa said he is proud of the way his players have handled adversity, but isn't going to get too excited about their recent progress until they having a winning record. With the victory, St. Louis is 56-60.
"When that happens, then you look around and say, 'Hey, where are we?,"' manager Tony La Russa said.
In other NL games, it was Florida 14, Arizona 5; New York 5, Pittsburgh 4; Philadelphia 3, Washington 2; Atlanta 5, San Francisco 4; Cincinnati 6, Chicago 5; San Diego 8, Colorado 0; and Houston 7, Los Angeles 4.
Brewers starter Chris Capuano (5-10) hasn't won since May 7, a streak of 15 starts without a victory that includes 10 losses and five no-decisions. Brewers manager Ned Yost said he and general manager Doug Melvin might consider taking Capuano out of the starting rotation.
"The streak is up to 15 now," Yost said. "He's laboring through it right now. I'll talk to Doug. We've got to see what our options are. He might be our best option. It's hard to make a rash decision after that."
Kip Wells (6-13) allowed a solo home run to Prince Fielder, his 37th, and a two-run shot to Geoff Jenkins in the first inning. But Wells didn't give up a hit after that until Braun's triple in the sixth. Wells said the Cardinals' road trip is another opportunity to jump back in the division race.
"We've had certain times where it's like, 'This is a big week for us. This is a big month for us,"' Wells said. "We just haven't necessarily put it together from top to bottom."
Chicago lost 6-5 to Cincinnati, allowing Milwaukee to maintain a 1 1/2 game division lead over the Cubs. But the Cardinals suddenly are lurking.
